Utopia 2001: An ethical approach to religion, government, economics and the law.

By William Sidney Harper

When Thomas More wrote Utopia he was driven by a sense of irrationality in high places, and sought to portray how a logical society might order its affairs. Yet there is a loss of individuality and personal freedom that is disturbing, if not chilling, in some aspects of his society. Anyone who proposes the next Utopia must avoid the trap of trying to turn us all into well-oiled machine parts, dutifully fitting into our roles within the state.

Utopia was based on logic, so a necessary prerequisite to any Utopian state would be the adoption of a logical ethic. A short description of what such a society might believe in would look something like this:

RationalityPrideJusticeIntegrityBenevolence

Rationality is simply the dedication to use logic in all our endeavours. Pride is a sense of self-worth- that virtue midway between what Aristotle called the two sins of humility and vanity. Justice means the recognition that rights grounded in logic must be universal. Integrity means you live in accordance with your beliefs. Benevolence is the willingness to aid others to achieve rational goals. Widespread adoption of such an ethic structure would result in major changes to our institutions.

Religion

Since it is instinctive, there's no point in trying to eliminate religion. Let it continue, as a form of spiritual entertainment. But it must be kept out of the ethical or Utopian debate. An ethic based solely upon obedience to God, as interpreted by very human priests, is too fallible and incompatible with a rational ethic.

Government

The political party system is an extension of the instinctive group syndrome which has caused so much harm to humanity. Everyone of ability should have a chance to run as individuals. Following charismatic leaders is another instinct which has gointo all kinds of strife. The chief executive should be selected in the same manner as any major corporation would employ.

The Economy

Keeping emotional issues out of the economic debate would allow the emergence of a truly free market society. A Utopian approach to farm subsidies is detailed in the main essay, as an example.

The Law

Today's legal system is far too cumbersome, time consuming and expensive. Utopians would keep laws to a minimum and ensure they were readily enforceable. Computers could replace judges as a mechanism for extremely fast impersonal decisions. Admissible evidence could be scanned, verified and entered by a panel representing both parties.

When Thomas More wrote his famous book in 1515, he was driven by a sense of irrationality in high places. His fictional work Utopia was an attempt to portray how a logical society might order its affairs. Thomas had ample experience in the three main institutions- religion, government and law.

Placed as a boy in the household of Cardinal John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury, he was exposed to religion (indeed, in his time especially, it would be difficult not to be). At the age of twenty-one he entered Parliament and saw how things were done in the halls of government. If he needed any more material to write his book, that was provided when he was called to the bar and became Under-Sheriff of London.

Thomas found all three institutions lacking in rationality thus providing the inspiration for Utopia. Of course, Thomas himself indulged in a bit of irrationality on occasion, such as wearing a hair shirt, using a log for a pillow, and whipping himself on Fridays, while he was studying law. But then, being exposed to all three institutions can do things like that to a man.

Through the eyes of his hero Raphael Hythloday, Thomas gave his vision of how a perfect society might do things. Utopia portrayed a much simpler world than ours, yet several hundred years later the basic causes of society's ills remain the same, and so do our institutions.

How, then, to better order things? Despite the system of logic portrayed in Utopia, there is a dreariness and a loss of individuality and personal freedom that is disturbing, if not chilling, in some aspects of this perfect society. Anyone who proposes the next Utopia must avoid the trap of trying to turn us all into well-oiled machine parts, dutifully fitting into our roles within the state. The state, after all, should exist to benefit the people, not the other way around.

Reform of our major institutions is the keystone to a happier, healthy society, yet this cannot happen under the prevailing ethical muddle. Problems cannot be solved unless they are recognised in the first place. The primary hurdle then, is to realise the need for a change in ethics. Rational societies can only be formed by rational citizens, so to put reform of our institutions as a priority is to put the cart before the horse in a very real sense. You cannot build a healthy machine from dysfunctional parts.

The building blocks of a perfect society are its citizens, and this places a major priority on the adoption of a logical personal ethic. To expect that to happen on a global scale is to ask the nearly impossible, yet if only one small country was to achieve such a feat, it would serve as a model for the world.

An ethic based on logic would also recognise the need to channel or deflect harmful instinctive reactions such as greed and prejudice, which are byproducts of our evolutionary heritage. It might look something like this:

RationalityPrideJusticeIntegrityBenevolence

A short essay on a Utopian state is not the place for a full description of an ethic system or the reasons behind it. That is contained in a book I'm trying to get published, The Atheist's Guide To Religion. Yet a society, be it Utopia or any other, is only a reflection of the citizens within it. To build a new Utopia the majority of its people would have to adopt a logical ethic. A short description of what such a society might believe in, then, is a necessary prerequisite to any discussion of a theoretical Utopian state.